Stop the Phone Company Petition to Stop Supplying Data at the FCC — and Erase Your Rights.

And please file comments at the FCC or sign onto our petition at change.org

Story:

The United States Telephone Association (USTA), the phone companies’ trade association, has petitioned the FCC (WC Docket No. 12-61) to essentially remove all requirements to supply information about AT&T, Verizon and the other phone companies’ business activities. This is known as “forbearance,” where the FCC has the authority to enforce the law but chooses not to do so.

This is the latest effort in an ongoing campaign to allow AT&T and Verizon to hide what they are doing by no longer disclosing basic financial information between and among the companies’ subsidiaries.

This means that your right to know what the companies are doing will be limited. You won’t know what the telcos are doing behind your back. Worse, this stops advocates or the government from knowing what these companies are doing. And if you haven’t read our latest report, showing massive manipulation of revenues and expenses to save billions on taxes, while not building out high-speed broadband/cable to ½ of the US and to raise your rates — because they can — we won’t be able to continue to out their wrong-doing without more data.

·First, we requested the FCC stop the USTA Petition.

·Second, we requested the FCC restore all previous requirements that have already been removed.